The Volkswagen Jetta Sport 2.0TDI DSG took the top honour in its price class and went on to be voted overall winner of the twenty-ninth Caravan Club Tow-car of the Year Competition in Britain.

According to a Newspress report the Jetta was judged the winner by a panel of 11 judges who applauded its “suave design”, its practicality as a caravaning family car and its great performance when towing in a variety of situations.

Held, as in previous years, at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, the Competition attracted 30 entrants.

Class wins in the competition also went to the Skoda Superb Estate Elegance 2.0 DSG; the Volkswagen Touareg Escape 3.0 V6 TDI and the Volvo V60 D5 AWD Volvo Ocean Race.

“From these class winners the sleek, stylish and very capable Volkswagen Jetta Sport emerged as the overall victor,” said the release.

The results of the competition were announced at The Caravan Club Towcar of the Year Awards ceremony held at the Royal Automobile Club in London on Wednesday.

Although caravans are not commonplace in Jamaica, the tests indicate a vehicle’s engine capacity to handle heavy weights.

Special guest, former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert, attended the testing regime at Millbrook and presented the class awards to representatives from the winning manufacturers at the Awards ceremony.

“It was a real eye-opener being at Millbrook seeing all the cars being put through their paces, they really are put to the towing test,” said Herbert.

The test explores a vehicle’s ability to pull the weight of a caravan specially prepared for the competition.

Caravan Club said that the cars entered were carefully scrutinised to make sure they conformed to the exact specification declared on the entry documentation.

Track tests, using six expert drivers, then assess each car’s towing ability as well as acceleration, braking and the ability to cope with demanding hill starts. Another team of four “caravanability” judges makes a careful assessment of each entrant’s usability in terms of everyday “caravanning”.

“The Club extends its congratulations to all the winners in this ompetition. Special plaudits go to the terrific Volkswagen Jetta, it really is a great vehicle and it proved itself time and time again with the judges during testing,” commented Grenville Chamberlain, Caravan Club chairman.